Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s ‘best’ ending is its weakest

The main quest of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey isn’t really about fighting an evil cult. It’s not even about settling the fate of the Greek world, though, hey, if you’re passing through why not sort that out yeah? Odyssey is a tale of family. Its title evokes the tale of Odysseus trying to return home, and so too is Kassandra. (Oh please, like I played as Alexios.) She’s not headed for her literal home really, but rather to her family. Throughout the course of this journey you’ll confront your step brother, your father, your actual brother, your mother and uh, your real dad. It’s a whole thing. For me though, this isn’t the family Kassandra cared about.

The game itself seems to want to push players towards an attempt to repair broken bonds. Forgive your father (he threw you off a cliff as child) and your brother (he’s the prodigy of a war-mongering cult) and maybe make peace with your step brother (a blind Spartan nationalist hell bent on killing you at nearly every opportunity). Manage all that and keep your mother safe to be rewarded with a saccharine sweet happy ending where you sit down for dinner.